South East region update

Listen to a podcast recorded at a great community event

On a sunny day we headed south to take part in a mass sing-along called Eastbourne Shout, which is part of the My Playground project. This is a good example of a project which has used an Awards for All grant to involve the whole community.

The Ratton School and Cavendish School in Eastbourne, East Sussex started the My Playground project after meeting with local groups and realised there was a need for a project which would promote community cohesion.

The first event they held was the mass sing-along which encouraged community spirit by inviting everyone from all ages and backgrounds to sing three songs.

Listen to the podcast to find out their inspiration and what the community thought about the event.

If you are interested in a small grant, please check out our Awards for All website.

We will be creating more podcasts to bring projects to life, so look out for future podcasts in this bulletin.  If you think your BIG funded project will make a good podcast, email us on southeast@biglotteryfund.org.uk

BIG invests in Local Trust

Big Local Trust, which launched on 27 July, aims to get people involved in deciding how to improve the areas where they live.

Up to £200 million will be invested in 100-150 urban and rural neighbourhoods in England that may have had difficulty obtaining funding in the past.

Of the 50 neighbourhoods identified so far, five are in the South East. Each will receive at least £1million through Big Local Trust.

These areas are:

• Wycombe - Micklefield and Marsh
• Portsmouth - Fratton
• Southampton - Harefield
• Dartford - Tree Estate and part of Town Ward
• Gravesham - An area of Northfleet North.

An independent charitable Trust will be set up to support local funding schemes in the targeted areas over 10 years.

Find out more on our Big Local Trust programme page.

New programme to support young carers

Many young people are enjoying a fun-filled summer holiday. But thousands of young carers are spending their break looking after a relative suffering from a disability or long-term illness.

So BIG has launched Youth in Focus, a new £30 million England-wide funding programme, which will provide vital support for young carers as well as other vulnerable groups – young people leaving youth offending institutions and young people leaving care.

There are currently 175,000 known young carers across the UK who look after a family member or loved one suffering from physical or mental illness, though it is thought there are thousands more hidden young carers.

The programme also aims to support young people leaving care between the ages of 15 and 25, so they get better access to education, housing, healthcare and employment advice and services. Young people leaving youth offenders institutions between the ages of 15 and 25 will also be supported to develop their life skills and get better access to services, particularly young men with learning difficulties and young women.

Voluntary organisations working with young carers and those leaving care or young offenders’ institutions can visit our website for more information and to register to attend one of our regional briefing events being held throughout September.

Read our Big Magazine for inspiring stories

Want to get an idea of the types of projects we fund? Read our latest Big Magazine. In this edition read about football helping youngsters in Dartford, a farmer’s wife giving back to her community in Crowhurst, buildings made of straw and much more.

If you would like hard copies of the magazine please email us on southeast@biglotteryfund.org.uk

Lottery grant helps Sussex mentoring scheme

Offenders often need support during their transition from custody to the community. Sussex Pathways Limited is able to help by providing a mentoring scheme thanks to a £142,895 Reaching Communities grant.

The mentoring scheme, piloted since 2009, offers support needed to help rebuild lives in terms of housing, personal finances, training, employment and health.

Caroline Mayhew, Chairman of Sussex Pathways, said: “This is the most excellent news for all involved or working in partnership with Sussex Pathways, which has been entirely supported by volunteers to date.

“Our pilot project shows that we are not only sowing the seed of change, but we are beginning to rebuild lives. We are also seeing a reduction in the reoffending pattern from a typical 75 per cent to below 25 per cent, thus contributing to safer communities and making enormous savings to the local economy.”

Find out more about Reaching Communities and how you can apply by visiting our website

VJ Day 65th anniversary

15 August was the 65th anniversary of VJ day. To commemorate the day, there were a number of events and activities across the UK.

And don't forget, if you know a World War 2 veteran they can apply to our Heroes Return programme to revisit the places where they saw action.

John Chittendon from East Sussex applied to Heroes Return.  He will be using his grant to retrace the steps of his remarkable journey when he and two of his shipmates entered Singapore just before it was liberated from the Japanese. Read about his story

To find out more about applying, visit our Heroes Return web page.

Regional events

Participation Works is holding a series of training courses to help organisations involve young people more fully in their work and promote a culture of participation among all the services that affect young people.

Here are some of the events on offer in London:

• Ready, steady, change, London – 2 September 2010
• How to involve 'hard to reach' children and young people, London – 28 September 2010

Participation works is a consortium of six national children and young people agencies. Please visit the Participation Works website for more details on the courses and how to register.

The Big Lunch

Thanks a million to all who took part in the Big Lunch on 18 July 2010. It is estimated that one million people across the UK took part in a Big Lunch. We hope you are keeping in touch with your neighbours and your newfound friends. The Big Lunch website has a few videos of lunches which took place – check them out!